Steam-generating plant



E. C. NEWCOMB S lEMl GENERATING PLANT Filed April 1, H1920 Kc 0MB ATTORNEY INVENTOR P MW 0WHRD C A/ Patented Nov. 17,

UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD G. NEWC'OIMB, OF SCITUATE, MAEiSAGHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, ASSIGN- MENTS, 'IO STANDARD STEAM COBPORATIOH, 0F $T. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A COR- PORATION 0F DELA'WAPLE.

Applicationtfiled April 1,

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, Enwnnn (l. NEWVCOMB, a citizen of the UnitedrStates, residing in the town of Scituate, county. otPlymouth, and State of Massachusetts. haveinvented new and usetuli Improvements in Steam- Generating:Plants, 0t Whiclrthefollowing is a specification.

TlllSrlIlVQDillOil. relates; to steam generatingplants of the general type in which a liquid tuol is. automatically. supplied to aburner and Water is in a like manner supplied to a generator, and: means are provided for automatically controlling the fuel and Water feeds.

My invention relates particularly to a steam. generz'iting plant for automobiles in which a flasln or semi-flash boiler is employed; although theinventionimight equally Well he applied to .a boiler ()f 'ljhQ'WillIQ-l level type. In installations ot this. character. it has heretofore heenproposedto drive the Water pumpfor supplying water to the gen- Gl.Rl'Ol,."fl.OlH an' electric motor; which also operates a tan torsupplying the air to produce and support combustion; or to drive the pump from the engine driving the car; or to employ a plurality of pumps, one of which is driven by an electric motor, and the other l rtlie steam engine which drives thecar. automatic means-being provide-d for causing a joint or indcpendent operation of the pumps as: generator conditionsmay require. i

' Inthe case of electrically driven pumps an objection exists in the tact that any increase in the size and power of the carnecessitates a considerable increase in the size of the electrical generating unit, and in high powered carsthe size, Weight and cost of; the necessary electrical installation for pumping the Water to the generator renders the use ot a motor driven pump highly objectionable. On the other hand, where the pump is driven from the engine ot the car an additional load is placed on the engine and it is difficult to co-ordinate the operation of the engine with the'requirements ot the steam generaton under all conditions.

It is the general object of: the present invention to provide a novel; generating sys tem. in .WltlCllztllB water pump is driven. by

STEAM-GENERATING PLANT.

1920. Serial No. 370,365.

steam from the generator entirely independently of the engine driving the car.

Stated more in detail, objects of the invention are to provide a steam generating system of the. character described in which the blower which supplies the air for the purposes otcombustion and which is operated simultaneously With a fuel pump by an electric motor, and the Water pump which supplies Water to the generator, are automatically controlled by generator condi trons; to provide, in a steam generating system of this character means for automatically controlling in unison the fuel supply and the Water supply, where the latter is producedwby means other than the motor for the fuel supply orthe engine of the car; in a system having the relation of parts as last recited, to provide for the control in unison of the fuel supply and the water-supply by a magnettsivitch which is responsive to generator conditions; to provide means whereby the fuel pump may be utilized to pump Water to the boiler, as whereit isconsidered desirable to till the tubes of the boiler With Water betoreplacing the system as a Whole in operation; to provide means in a steam generating system otthe character describedwhereby the teed ot the tuel may be cut out Without il'itertcrin r with thcoperation of the Water pump which supplies water to the generator; in a system such as described to provide means whereby the pump maybe operated independently ot' the motor which suppliesthe fuel for combustion; and finally, to provide in a steam generating system of the character described, an in stallation involving an electric motor for supplying air and tuel for the purposes of combustion, a Water pump operated independently of said motor. or of the engine driving 'the car andmeans for controlling and co-ordinating the operation of said mm tor and pump accordingto the requirements of the generator conditions.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing Whichis a View illustrating. toialarge extent diagrammatically. a generating system according to my invention, the

steam generatonthemagnet switch for controlling the operation of the motor and Water pump, and. the solenoid valve for com lan trolling the feed of the fuel, being shown in section, and other parts being shown in plan or elevation.

deferring, now to the drawing, the nu meral 1 indicates a generator which is of the general type heretofore patented to me and involves the specific construction embodied in the combustion system patented to L. L. Scott, March 23, 1920, No. 1,334,560. The numeral 2 indicates a motor which operates a blower 3 and a fuel pump 4, these parts having" a common shaft 5. The blower supplies air to the interior of a distributing drum 6 on the top of the generator. whence it passes through a spout 7 into the con'abustion chamber of the generator, supporting combustion of a flame which has been produced in the ignition chamber 8 by means of a spark plug 9. The fuel pump 1 draws fuel through a fuel-suction pipe 10 which leads from a suitable source of fuel supply, and delivers the fuel through a pipe 11 to a spray nozzle 12 under pressure, the latter spraying the fuel into the ignition chamber 8 as before stated. The fuel pump is connected by a pipe 13 with the chamber of a casino 1% with which communicates the pipe 11. The openin of this pipe is controlled by a valve 15 under the pressure of a spring 16 supported on the top of the core 17 working in a solenoid 18, these parts constituting a solenoid valve. In the length of the pipe 11 is located a joint 19 with which connects a pipe 20 leading from the fuel pump 4 and a pipe 21 leading to the Bourdon tube 22 of a fuel pressure gauge.

It is one of the objects of the invention to enable the fuel pump 4 to be utilized for supplying water to the generator To this end a water pipe 23 leading from a suitable source of water supply is connected with the pipe 13 and is provided with a valve 25%. Between the pipes 10 and 23 the pipe 18 is provided with a valve 25. In like manner a water discharge pipe 26 is connected with the pipe 20 and is provided with a valve 27. A valve 28 is provided in the pipe 153 between the pipe 26 and the joint 19. lVhen it is desired to utilize the fuel pump 1 for pumping water the valves 25 and 28 are closed to prevent the suction of fuel by the pump on the one hand, and the delivery of water to the fuel line on the other. and the valves 2& and 27 are open, so that in operation water will be drawn up through the pipe and delivered through the pipe 26. The latter pipe would ordinarily lead to and be connected with the coils of the generator, and the fuel pump 1 would be operated as a water pump when it was desired to supply the generator coils with water before placing. the combustion system as a whole in oper ation; or, of course, under an other condi tions where it might be desired to pump water to the tubes of the generator without the occurrence of combustion. The numeral 29 indicates the steam line, that is, the pipe for conveying steam from the generator to the engine which drives the car, and located in the length of this pipe is a chamber 30 into which projects a mercury tube 31 connected with a B'ourdon tube 32 of a steam temperature gauge 33. The numeral 34 indicates a battery which supplies current for the motor 2, the solenoid 18 and a magnet switch 35. to be later referred to. The numeral 36 indicates a hand operated switch which when closed, is adapted to place the entire system in operation. The solenoid 18 is normally in the circuit of the battery through leads 18 and 38 When the circuit is closed at the switch 36 current will normally pass through the coil 18 and hold the core 17 in the raised position shown, whereby the spring 16 will press the valve 15 against the opening of the pipe 11. In the event the temperature of the steam in the chamber 30 should increase beyond a given degree, say 800 F., the construction is such that a contact piece 37 connected to ground at 37 and operated by the Bourdon tube 32, will break contact with a member 38 connected by wire 38 with solenoid 18, and thereby break the circuit of the coil 18 and permitthe core 17 to drop, thereby releasing pressure on the spring 16. hen this occurs the valve 15 will fall away from the end of the pipe 11 allowing the fuel to be by-passed to the suction side of the pump instead of being; forced to the spray nozzle 12. This interrupts the supply of fuel and no more fuel can be supplied to the burner until the temperature has decreased sufficiently for the Bourdon tube 32 to resume its normal position and thereby re-establish the circuit through the coil 18 and allow the latter to be again energized to raise the core 17. This operation is fully set forth in the patent to Scott above referred to and need not be more rmrticularly described, as in itself it forms no part of this invention.

Leading from the chamber 30 is a steam pipe 39 which communicates with a Bourdon tube 40 of a steam pressure gauge.

The steam pressure gauge is of the construction shown in the application of Allen C. Stale", Serial No. 317,496, filed August 14th, 1919, and comprises an electrom-agnet 41, a pair of arms 12 and 42 pivotally con nected at 43, and constituting a movable 1 contact member normally held upward, when in operation, by the magnet 41. Below the pivotal connection of the arms is a fixed stop 44 which limits the downward movement of the arms when the magnet is tie-energized. The numeral 45 indicates a fixed contact member which is adapted to be engaged by the outer end of the arm 42*, and the latter is adapted to be lifted out of engagement with said contact member against the resistance; of a spring; by a pin 4635 on the en:d..-of3 the Bourdon tube 40, when the pressure; of thesteam exeee'ds a given: amount, sayg 6005pounds. 'When this occurs the circuit to the magnet 41 .is broken and-the arms 42 land42? dropat their pivotal connection 43 against the stop44,.therebyv increasing the distancethe end of the arinw will. have i to more to: again make connection with thetixed contact 45: The arm 42 is-pirotally mounted on a fixed'rpivot at an andion thisv pivot-is also pivotally mounted an armAS; the outerendof which engages a fixed. contact: member 49.. The arm48-is adapted ito be raised against resistance ot the spring by a pin 50 on the end of the Bourdon tube QQot' thefuel rpressure gauge, when the pressure ofthe fuel exceeds a given degree, say twentyi poundsi. When the arm 42%,;underthe; influence of: steam pressure,.is raised. out' of engagementwith the contaet45, the-circu'it to the magnet switch 35', to be later reterredtoawill be broken and, in thevparticular embodiment of theinventio'n shown; b'othathe motor-2r and thewater pump; for: supplying water to the generator will he put out of operation,- as williappear more clearly from the description of the devices mentioned, whiclrwill now be given. The numeral 51 indicates, generally, a ater pump, comprisinga steam cylinder and a pump cylinder having a com menpiston rod-54.. Secured, on the piston rodts is an arm 55, the upper end ofrwhich isirecessed or; apertured to slide-over a rod 56, whichlis slidably. mounted atjit-s opposite ends on the casingsof-the steam and i pump cylinders; respectively. Pivotally mounted intermediate its endsat the side ofthe steam cylinder 52 is a-lever 57, theupper end of which is pivotally connected to the rod 5:6, as shorm at. The rod 56% is provided with r a-stop between whiclu. and the arm 55, isa coi-Lspring 60. Alsii'nilarstop 61 and a coil spring 62. is provided nearxthe inner end of the rod 563. As the piston rod reciprocate-s, the 'arn'r 55. strikes. altere nately the spring-(iO-to movethe rodr56 in one direction rand thereby, through thelever 57.. open the-steam inlet port- 63; and the steam exhaust valve 64, and the spring 62 tormove the rod 56 in theopposite direction, and therebyopeir the-steam inlet valve 65 and the, steam exhaust valve 66. The ex: haust valves are connected with a common exhaust pipeGT. Thepump cylinder 53 is provided with inlet valves 68 and'69 con nected With a: common water-supply pipe 70, and with. discharge valves 71' and 1 72 connected with a; common discharge: pipe 73. leading to the coils of the generator 1, and provided in itslength with a check i 'alve-M "llhe numeral \Zfiindicates'a pi for supplying steamto thecy1inder 52 for operating the piston rod only briefly described ject-inatter of Patent No. l/l545331, dated May 8th,,1923, and i loes notper se enter into the present:invent-ions i The magnetaswitch 35, heretofore referred to, comprises a casing 76 inwhich ishoused the solenoid'N, surrounding a core 78, normally pressed upward. by a; coil spring 7-). Mounted on-the=upper end of the core. is tlil arn iature 80 i which: has its opposite ends located over contact plates.81 and 82, respectively, connected to lead wires 83 and 84: ot'an electric circuit.including the motor 2. The Solenoid 77 isin the circuit formed by the lead wire 84 and another lead wire 85, whiehincludes themagnet ll of the steam pressure gauge, and the contacted. llhe othervside of this circuit is a metallic one, the. grounded-ends of the circuitibeing indicated, at! the 'steam gauge, by the numeral 86: and adjacenti to the battery 3.4 by the numeral 87'. The latter groundedicontact is from a lead: Wire 88! extending direct from the battery 34: to ithe motor 2. primary winding ofvthe spark coil 89. is in the circuit formed :by a dead: Wire 90,..which includes the stop 49, andra lead wire. 91 conneotingthe primary winding with the main 1 llIlflCOIlClUG-tOl 83, leading fro-in the motorto the contactplateSL. The numeral 92 indicatesvthe lead wire fi'om tllGSGLOllda-ry windingof thespark coil connecting to the sparkplug9,\tl1eother side: of thecircuit being a metallic. one, as usual; the ground: connection being indicated at 93. lVhen the pressureotithewfuel reaches zupre determinedamount;say 2tl' pounds, the arm 48" is lifted; by the piny50-outs of: contact with the cont act member 49, and x the sp ark plug 9 is thus automatically cutout. The pressure of the= tuel may.continue to build up' to, ;sa-y, 25-pounds and thereafter pres. sure is i controlled bythesolenoid valve-15. That; is to say, whenithepressure in pipe 21 exceeds twenty-five pounds, the valve 15 will: he forced, downward against the re sistanceotspring: 16, allowinguthe fuelito h y-passthrouglupipe 13 to theuinlet; side of pump 4; -The controhby means of the steampressure and. steam temperature gauges, the automatic cut=out of the spark plug through the fuel pressure gauge; and the controliof the fuel pressure bythesole noid valve, arealliinvolvedrin the combustion system of the'patentto Lewis L. Scott, above; referred to, and are only bri efly i ndi cated herein; in order that the generaliopenationmay be better understood. i 1

Referring: further to: the magnet switch 35,}the core 78is'providedwitli a Ste/N94: which i projects upwardly through the casing 76 and} adjustably conneotedl in.- the; outer end of; the lever) 95, which is pivotally mounteduintermediate, its endsi at 960111 the 54. The pump is as it forms the Sula-- The 5 iop of the casing 76. Suitably supported on the casing 76 is a valve casing 97, with which communicates the terminal of the steam pipe 75, heretofore referred to as supplying steam to the steam end of the water pump. The numeral 98 also indicates a stean'i pipe, which leads from the chamber 30 to the valve casing 97, and has its open ing into said casing controlled by a valve 99 on the end of a valve stem 100, the upper end of which is adjustably secured toward the outer end of the lever 95. Secured in the extreme outer end of the lever 95 is the upper end of a coil spring 101, the opposite end of which is secured to the casing The hand switch 86, previously referred to, is located in the length of the wire 85, and when this switch is closed the solenoid 77 is placed in circuit with the battery 34, and the armature 80 is drawn into contact with the contact plates 81 and 82, thereby raising the valve 99 so that the steam, when generated, can pass through the pipes 98 and 7 5 to the steam cylinder 52 and actuate the piston 54, and thereby pump water into the coils of the generator 1. If, for any reason, the coils of the generator should not contain water, at the time it is desired to place the system in operation, the fuel pump 4 can be utilized to pump water into the coils by closing the valves and 28 and opening the valves 24 and 27, as heretofore described. When the switch 36 is closed the circuits to the motor 2, the solenoid 18, and the spark plug 9, will also be closed, and the blower 3 and the fuel pump 4 be placed in operation. Steam is promptly generated by the heat of the ignited spray projected from the nozzle 12 into the combustion chamber of the enerator 1, in practice it being found that, starting cold, that is, with no preheating whatever, steam suflicient to place the car in operation can be generated in something less than half a minute. The steam for running the engine of the car passes from the chamber through the pipe 29 to the engine, the latter not being shown. The steam also passes from the chamber 30 through the pipe 98, valve casing 97, andthe pipe 75 to the steam cylinder 52 and operates the water pump to deliver water through the pipe 73 to the coils of the generator. Should, now, the steam pressure exceed a pre-determined degree, say, 600 pounds, the arm 42 will be lifted by the pin 46 of the Bourdon tube 40, which will not only break the circuit to the magnet 41, as heretofore described, but will also break the circuit including the solenoid 77, there by de-energizing the same, whereupon the spring 79 immediately raises the armature 80 out of contact with the contact plates 81 and 82 and breaks the circuit to the motor 2, which, of course, ceases to operate. At the same time the spring 101 will draw the mouse outer end of the lever 95 downward, forcing the valve 99 to its seat, and preventing the steam from passing to the pipe 75, thereby stopping the water pump. In order to regulate the speed of the water pump, I insert in the pipe 98, a hand valve 102 which may be adjusted to regulate the quantity of steam passing into the cylinder 52. In order to be able to operate the water pump independently of the electric motor, I connect the steam pipes 75 and 98 by means of a pipe 103, which is provided with a valve 104. When the valve 104 is closed the water pump will be controlled in unison with the motor 2 by the magnet switch when the valve 104 is open, however, the steam will pass direct from the pipe 98 to the pipe and thence to the steam cylinder 52, so that the pump will continue to operate so long as there is steam in the generator, irrespective of the fact that the motor may have been cut out by the magnet switch 35.

I claim 1. In a steam generating plant for steam automobiles, in combination with a generator for supplying steam to the engine of the car, a liquid fuel burner for heating the generator, a water pump operated independently by steam from the generator for supplying water to the latter, fuel feeding means, an electric motor for actuating the same, and means responsive to generator conditions for automatically controlling the operations of said motor and said pump in unlson.

2. In a steam generating plant, in combination with a generator, a liquid fuel burner for heating the same, a water pump operated by steam from the generator for supplying water to the latter, fuel feeding means, an electric motor for actuating the same, an electrically operated device in the circuit of said motor, controlling means for the steam-end of said pump adapted to be actuated by said electrically operated device, and means responsive to generator conditions for opening and closing the circuit of said device whereby to control the operations of the motor and pump in unison.

3. In a steam generating plant, in combination with a generator, a liquid fuel burner for heating the same, a water pump operated by steam from the generator for supplying water to the latter, fuel feeding means, a motor for actuating the same, an electrically operated device in the circuit of said motor, a valve interposed in the steam line to the water pump, means for actuating said valve from said electrically operated device, means responsive to gen erator conditions for making and breaking the circuit of said device, whereby to automatically control the operations of said motor and said water pump, and a valved by-pass inserted in the steam line of the water pump for rendering the operation of said pump independent of the control of said electrically operated device at the will of the operator.

4. In a steam generating plant, in combi nation with a generator, a liquid fuel burner for heating the same, a water pump operated by steam from the generator for supplying water to the latter, fuel feeding means, an electric motor for actuating the same, a magnet switch in the circuit of said motor, controlling means for the steam end of said pump adapted to be actuated by the armature of said magnet switch, and means responsive to generator conditions for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet switch whereby to control the opera tions of the motor and pump in unison.

5. In a steam generating plant, in com- 20 bination with a generator, a liquid fuel burn er for heating the same, a water pump operated by steam from the generator for supplying water to the latter.

fuel feeding means, a motor for actuating the same, a magnet switch in the circuit of said motor, a Valve interposed in the steam-line to the water pump, means for actuating said valve from the armature of said magnet switch, means responsive to generator conditions for making and breaking the circuit of said magnet switch, whereby to automatically control the operations of said motor and said water pump, and a valved lay-pass inserted in the steam line of the water pump for rendering the operation of said pump independent of the control of the magnet switch at the will of the operator.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

EDWARD C. NEVJCOMB. 

